RileyMom's blog

Twas Christmas Day & all through the house……

not a creature was stirring. Actually, all the creatures are gone. It’s just me & Emma today. We have had a terrible stomach virus in the house for a week & Em managed to avoid it until Christmas Day. I miss the little ones & wish I could see all the fun they’re having (Emily’s sooorrrriiiiiieeeeee) They took the video camera and Hannah is in charge of seeing to it that I get a full share in the day.

With the house quiet today I got alot of cleaning done. I actually really enjoy cleaning on days like today. As much as I love the little mess-makers it’s nice every once in a while to clean when nobody is around to mess it back up before you’re done. I also like to take advantage of seemingly mundane tasks to think & pray & meditate. I was thinking today of my wonderful family. What a truly blessed woman I am. When I look into the faces of my children I am truly amazed that the Lord would trust me with such treasures. I pray daily for the strength to be the mother they deserve, for wisdom to direct them & for mercy in my many failings. I was thinking of the Christ-child earlier, that the Father’s plan of redemption included a baby. Christ in the form of a man-child. I remember holding my own dead child in my arms, fallen, sinful arms dependent wholly on the mercy of Christ, and I’m amazed that God loved me so much that he caused his own Son to suffer and die for me. I can not begin to describe how humbling that thought is…….

My Mighty Warrior

Mother’s Inspiration

Had I no little feet to guide
Along life's toilsome way,
My own more frequently might slide,
More often go astray.
But when I meet my baby's eyes,
At God's own bar I stand,
And angels draw me t'ward the skies
While Baby holds my hand.

Josiah 3

Josiah 3

Mercy Kate 5

Mercy Kate 5

Annie Lou 9

Annie Lou 9

Sarah (13)

Sarah 13

Ben 15

Ben 15

Hannah 16

Hannah 16

Jacob 18

Jacob 18

Ellen and Caleb Frederick

Caleb and Ellen

Trey, Candace and Lee Riley

Trey, Candace and Lee

Tyler, Emily, and Emma-Jane Upchurch

Tyler, Emily, and Emma-Jane

Katie

Katie

Emma-Jane

Our first grandbaby Emma-Jane, born in April 2011

Lee

Our second grandbaby Lee, born in August 2011

Mercy Kate Meeting Daddy

Stury and plump and clean and fair,
With big blue eyes and a tangle of hair,
There's a little lassie who runs to meet
Her father's step that rings on the street,
As, day after day, at the set of sun,
Father comes home when his work is done.